By Nyada Bryant, Zuleyha Cite and Martin Edwards
NEW JERSEY, USA, Jun 6 2025 – On April 16, Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations hosted UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang as part of its World Leader Forum.

President Yang emphasized the enduring relevance of the three pillars of the United Nations—peace and security, human rights, and development—and the promising future that the students possessed. His confident remarks were a stark contrast to both the rhetoric surrounding the UN as well as the pressures put on it by the Trump administration.

Multilateralism was built on the rocky foundations of political unrest, which made the United Nations a lighthouse for the international community. However, the storm confronting the UN has only worsened in recent months.

President Yang’s conversation with Diplomacy students underscored that despite the challenges, the UN system has proven to be more flexible and adaptable than critics suggest.

The UN’s inbox is a challenging one due to events such as the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the conflict in Gaza. Russia’s Security Council vetoes have been met with criticism by the General Assembly, and Gaza has been a similarly polarizing event.

Israeli delegates alleged that members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency assisted in the October 7th strike on Israel, while Palestinian officials condemned the International Court of Justice for not calling for a ceasefire. Deepening political divisions between countries have doubtless complicated the work of the UN.

At the same time, political polarization between UN member states is mirrored by a partisan divide within the US public. According to a 2024 Pew Research study, 78% of Democrats saw a benefit in UN membership, compared to 42% of Republicans.

Additionally, only 31% of Democrats saw a decrease in the UN’s influence, whereas 42% of Republicans differed. The UN’s challenge has grown with the new administration, as its efforts to cut funding have replaced multilateralism with nationalism.

Recent efforts to ask Congress to reduce previously appropriated money to WHO, UNRWA, and UN peacekeeping are emblematic of a broader trend in which the UN is asked to work with less.

The Secretary-General’s developing response to the UN’s financial challenges, known as UN 80, is not without critics. The plan aims to identify efficiencies, review mandates from Member States, and propose a deeper set of program realignments.

While reducing ongoing turf battles between UN peace operations and UN political and peacebuilding affairs would certainly be laudable, there are natural questions, just as there are with any reform, over how much is just pure cost-cutting and how much is efficiency-improving.

The prevalence of leaks and communications problems along with limited voices of SIDS, NGOS and LDCs surrounding UN 80 is indicative of the challenge any reform faces, especially one that focuses on reducing personnel costs.

Despite these challenges, President Yang made a case for optimism about the UN. His case had three elements. First, President Yang stressed the importance of the General Assembly as the most representative, deliberative body of the organization, which has 193 member states.

It stands out from other international organizations as the only one that can bring together member countries under the same roof and provide an environment for diplomacy and solutions.

The centrality of the General Assembly led President Yang to his second point, recapping the past history of reform to underscore that the UN has risen to challenges in the past. Kofi Annan’s In Larger Freedom, the 2000 Millennium Summit, the Brahimi Report, and the 2006 Creation of the Human Rights Council, and others have proven that the UN is transformable.

The General Assembly has, in turn, historically helped the UN to be a functioning organization. As President Yang claimed in paraphrasing Dag Hammarskjöld, ”We are not in heaven, but we are not in hell either.”

Finally, this reform agenda has continued with the Pact for the Future, which was adopted by heads of state and government in New York in September 2024. It presents a multilateral system seeking to be more just, more inclusive, and more effective.

The pact’s two main annexes prioritize youth and future generations to ensure that we act with tomorrow in mind and to infuse the United Nations’ work with long-term thinking. For President Yang, the Pact is a crucial sign that the UN is committed to overcoming structural and functional obstacles that reduce its efficiency.

His optimism towards the reform stems from the potential of the Pact for the Future to modify international cooperation according to present realities and revitalize multilateralism. And it is worth stressing that the Pact for the Future predated the change of US administration, showing that the UN is capable of rising to the challenge.

The UN may be facing a crisis moment. However, it is certainly not ending. It is shifting and evolving, as it has in the past, as a response to emerging trends put forward by member states. The ongoing international conflicts unveil the need for inclusive approaches to diplomacy, global cooperation, and multilateralism. Only the UN can make these inclusive approaches a reality.

Nyada Bryant is a graduate student at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations, where she specializes on negotiations and foreign policy. She serves as an executive member of two campus organizations and strives to make a difference.

Martin Edwards is a Professor and Associate Dean at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations.

IPS UN Bureau

By Francine Pickup
NEW YORK, Jun 6 2025 – The ocean is far more than a vast expanse of water; it is a cornerstone of life and a critical driver of sustainable development. The intricate relationship between human development and the ocean underscores why ocean governance and sustainability are pivotal to global progress. Its significance becomes particularly evident in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where the ocean is not just a resource but an intrinsic part of identity and survival.

Custodians of some of the world’s largest Exclusive Economic Zones— SIDS protect vast ocean and coastal areas, home to 20% of all plant, bird and reptile species. Many have designated large parts of their national waters into marine protected areas, positioning themselves as leaders in global conservation. These natural assets form the backbone of their economies in ocean-dependent sectors such as tourism and fisheries. Yet these nations are also on the frontlines of climate change.

Rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather events, accelerating environmental degradation are not distant threats – they are today’s reality. And yet, despite this future-smart, holistic approach to their development, these countries are trapped in a vicious cycle of indebtedness, undermining their ability to plan and prepare for climate-induced shocks that will undoubtedly come.

A Sea of Solutions

SIDS were instrumental in securing the 1.5° degrees global warming threshold in the Paris Agreement, a testament to their foresight of the urgency we all will face. They lead the world in implementing bold, integrated solutions that tackle multiple challenges of conserving and sustainably using their ocean and coastal resources, promoting renewable energy, fostering digital and local capacity and creating jobs.

The Fourth International Conference on SIDS (May 2024) and the adoption of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) charts a ten-year roadmap to scale climate and biodiversity action, increase conservation and promote sustainable ocean use, with resilience at its core. SIDS make important contributions to implementing global environmental accords including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), the Paris Agreement and the UNCCD Strategic Framework, all of which prioritize action to save the ocean and reduce marine and land-based drivers of degradation.

The Rising Up for SIDS – a forward-looking strategy to outline a transformative vision for the next decade, builds on nearly 60 years of collaboration between UNDP and the SIDS and a partnership with Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) ensuring that SIDS’ specific needs are met in policy and practice.

As the world leaders gather for the Third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, (June 9-13) SIDS will offer innovative and scalable solutions to global environmental and development challenges and show how they are at the forefront of ocean-positive strategies,. It is critical that the world listens. Here are the three key lessons SIDs bring:

1. The Ocean is a Catalyst for Human Development

For SIDS, the ocean is not a boundary: it is life itself. Small-scale fisheries provide food and livelihoods for millions. Marine and coastal tourism drives much of their GDP. Blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes, sequester carbon, buffer coastlines, and host diverse species. The ocean’s vast genetic and biological wealth offers untapped potential for future medicines, sustainable industries, and climate adaptation.

In SIDS, ocean action is inseparable from economic development. Escalating environmental threats aggravate economic insecurities. Harnessing the ocean economy enables sustainable growth and diversification for food security, tourism, trade and climate resilience.

But SIDS cannot do it alone. Global partnerships and international finance are essential to support SIDS unlock the full potential of their marine resources, ensuring inclusive, equitable development that leaves no one behind.

2. Integrated Solutions are needed to address Interconnected Challenges

Sea level rise, ecosystem degradation and economic vulnerability are not separate problems. Neither are their solutions. In SIDS, efforts to restore and protect coastal ecosystems also support sustainable tourism and sustainable fishing. Expanding opportunities drive human development, bringing jobs and economic prosperity within planetary boundaries.

‘Whole of island’ approaches offer a powerful model for sustainable development. These strategies align decarbonization with community empowerment, protect biodiversity while expanding opportunity and security, and build on traditional and local knowledge as a foundation for innovation.

SIDS are showing the wider world how to cope and solve multiple, interconnected challenges that demand integrated solutions for people and prosperity – with the ocean at the heart.

3. Innovation is the Accelerator

SIDS are testing and scaling innovative ocean-based solutions that can be replicated globally. Many islands are today incubating new and investable ocean-based solutions that can be scaled up to support successful transitions to ocean-positive economic sectors and centers of excellence, both in the islands themselves and to the benefit of countries beyond.

Seychelles launched the world’s first ‘blue bond’ to finance marine conservation. In Cuba, nature-based solutions are reversing the degradation of the Sabana-Camagüey ecosystem. In the Maldives, local communities have successfully banned single-use plastics. The new GEF-financed, UNDP-led Blue & Green Islands initiative is taking this work further.

Designed specifically for SIDS, it promotes nature-based solutions across three key economic sectors: urban development, food production, and tourism. It is the first of its kind—focused on systems-level transformation that delivers global environmental benefits while advancing sustainable development.

Innovative partnerships that crowd in public, private and philanthropic capital, like the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, are also attracting and de-risking private sector investment into local businesses to protect and restore coral ecosystems. These new initiatives are already inspiring similar models in other countries.

SIDS for Ocean Action

As global leaders gather in Nice for the third UN Ocean Conference and at the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, (30 June-July 3) the message is clear: the world must rally behind SIDS to scale up the solutions they are already pioneering. By supporting their leadership, we create new ‘oceans of opportunity’ where people and planet can thrive together and where the path to sustainable development is swept forward by the oceans that touch every coastline in SIDs and beyond.

IPS UN Bureau

Excerpt:

Francine Pickup is Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP New York.